Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 9, 1993 TAG: 9303090319
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
RECHARGED TECH COACH SPURS TURNAROUND BY WOMEN'S TEAM
Trust has made a 180-degree turn in Virginia Tech's women's basketball program.Two years ago, a group of Hokie players asked for the dismissal of coach Carol Alfano. A few days ago, Alfano let the players plan practice - and Alfano said they did pretty much what she would have.
That illustrates a season in which Tech (19-7) set the school record for victories, posted its highest Metro Conference finish (second) and took a significant step forward for the first time under Alfano, who has coached Tech for 15 of the program's 17 years.
"No question this year if we didn't bring it around, we wouldn't have been around," Alfano said. "This was a crossroads for me: Get it done, or let somebody else get it done.
"The monkey's off the back: `Can she coach?' "
Next question: Can she win - in postseason? Second-seeded Tech plays No. 7 South Florida (10-16) at 4 p.m. on Wednesday in the first round of the Metro Conference women's tournament at the Commonwealth Convention Center in Louisville, Ky.
The tournament champion gets an automatic bid to the 48-team NCAA Tournament. Tech probably needs the automatic bid to continue its season; it's a long shot for an NCAA at-large bid or a spot in the eight-team National Women's Invitation Tournament, which the Hokies have lobbied with a promotional video.
For the first time in years, however, Tech doesn't need a miracle to win the Metro. They've beaten every team at least once, and wouldn't face top-seeded Southern Mississippi until the championship Friday night.
Last year at this time, Tech had won nine games and Alfano's future was in doubt.
"I'm very, very satisfied with the improvement in the attitude of the team, the morale, academics, the way they've recruited," Tech athletic director Dave Braine said last week. "I don't think Carol Alfano has anything to worry about."
Alfano hopes for a few more years of peace. This season, Tech has ridden four sophomores who were forced to play last year because of injuries: Christi Osborne, Jenny Root, Lisa Leftwich and Angela Donnell. Alfano says this year's freshman class, which includes Dublin's Terri Garland and Martinsville's Cynthia Lee, promises a bright future.
That recruiting class, plus subtle changes in Alfano's coaching style and priorities, are behind Tech's evolution. The current players' work ethic allows her to be less harsh on them, she said.
"When you surround yourself with good people, it makes it a lot easier. We don't have any prima donnas," Alfano said. "I don't think I've changed that much. Two or three years ago, I'm trying to coach effort, and that makes you have a very short fuse."
She has left much of summer recruiting to her assistants so she can concentrate on Xs and Os; last summer, she watched the U.S. Olympic trials in Colorado to pick up tips from the nation's top coaches and players. Assistant coach Beth Dunkenberger suggested running a "flex" offense, so Alfano hit up Tech men's assistant coach Bobby Hussey for advice.
And, Alfano shunned peripheral parts of her job, such as promotion.
"I tried to charge my batteries this year," she said. "If it doesn't have anything to do with winning or losing, I don't want to do it."
One thing that qualified: Tech's schedule. The Hokies had only 10 home games last year in their 10-18 season; Alfano watered down the competition a bit this year and scheduled 14 games in Cassell Coliseum. Next year, Alfano said, she may not schedule any NAIA teams and try to strengthen the slate. A home-and-home series with No. 1 Tennessee is close to completion, Alfano said.
The 43-year-old coach said she'd like to stay at Tech at least until the Garland-Lee class graduates.
"I'm having fun right now," she said. "We're in a position now where the next years are going to be better than the last years."